diode

diode, evacuated glass or metal electron tube containing two electrodes—a negatively charged cathode and a positively charged anode. It is used as a rectifier and as a detector in electronic circuits such as radio and television receivers. When a positive voltage is applied to the anode (or plate), electrons emitted from the heated cathode flow to the plate and return to the cathode through an external power supply. If a negative voltage is applied to the plate, electrons cannot escape from the cathode, and no plate current flows. Thus, a diode permits electrons to flow from cathode to plate but not from plate to cathode. If an alternating voltage is applied to the plate, current flows only during the time when the plate is positive. The alternating voltage is said to be rectified, or converted to direct current (DC).

In the indirectly heated cathode type of tube shown in the Diode.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., the electron source consists of a metallic cylinder, usually nickel, coated with a good electron emitter, such as a mixture of barium and strontium oxides. The heat is provided by a coil of wire (heater) located inside the cylinder but insulated from it. In the directly heated cathode, the heater wire itself serves as the source of electrons and is referred to as the filament.

Solid-state rectifier devices, which permit current flow in only one direction and which have largely replaced the vacuum type, are also frequently referred to as diodes.